After weeks of speculation and hearsay about his health or possible death, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance this week, according to state media.
“KCNA news agency reports that the North Korean leader cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory,” reports the BBC. “It adds that people at the factory ‘broke into thunderous cheers of hurrah’ when he appeared.”
Though the state media’s reports have not been confirmed, if the report is indeed true, Kim Jong Un’s alleged appearance would be the first he has made since April 12. No pictures have been provided.
For the past month, the status of Kim Jong Un’s health has been the subject of global speculation ever since he missed the birthday celebration of his grandfather Kim Il Sung on April 15. Since then, reports about his status have indicated he was either dead, seriously ill, or barricaded off in a compound somewhere with a thousand concubines. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) even went as far to tell Fox News that Kim Jong Un is either incapacitated or dead.
“Well, it’s a closed society, I don’t know anything directly,” Graham said. “But I’d be shocked if he’s not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don’t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea.”
“So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated,” Graham continued. “And I hope the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead, and President Trump’s willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion. So, if this guy is dead, I hope the next person who takes over will work with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody.”
An aide to South Korean President Moon Jae-in said last Sunday that Kim Jong Un is “alive and well.”
“He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13,” Chung-in Moon, foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News. “No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
As reported by The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra on Thursday, Taiwan National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Chiu Kuo-cheng said Kim Jong Un is “sick,” adding that they could not release further information in fear it would compromise their source.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said that he knows the status of Kim Jong Un’s health, but did not wish to disclose information.
“I hope he’s fine; I do know how he’s doing relatively speaking,” Trump said. “You will probably be hearing in the not too distant future.”
Speaking with South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency, Ji Seong-ho, a defector of North Korea, claimed that he has “been informed” Kim had died without citing the source.
“I’ve wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I’ve been informed that Kim died last weekend,” Ji told the outlet. “It is not 100 percent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99%.”
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